Driving lamp for vehicles



D. C. SHARP AND W. R. DIEH L.

DRIVING LAMP FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION man APR. 14. 1921.

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mgurn-n47 D. C. SHARP AND W. R DIEHL.

DRIVING LAMP F-0B-VEHICLE'S. APPLICATIQN FILED'APRQIH. 1921.

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D. C. SHARP AND W. R. DIEHL.

DRIVING LAMP FOB VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED APR- 14, 1921.

DAVID CHALMER snnnr AND WALTER nDInnL, or PITTSBURGH, PENNS YLVAN IA.

DRIVING- LAMP FOR VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 20, 1922.

Application fi1ed-l1pri1 14, 1921. Serial No. 461,334.

a lamp which is automatically rotated in a horizontal plane by steering of the vehicle to which it is applied. 7 7

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby the lamp may be rotated in a vertical plane independently of the vertical rotation,.'but when so desired synchronously therewith.

In the accompa'nyin drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a lamp embodying the features of the present inventionmounted on the chassis of'an automobile; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of two such lamps,so mounted and interconnected for simultaneous movement; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the lamp and lamp bracket; Fig. leis a rear elevation of the same; Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view on the line 55 Fig. 3 illus-,

trating a lamp assembly arranged for positive actuation; Fig. 6is a vertical sectionalview on the line 6-6,Fig. 4;; Fig. 7 is a front elevation of a manually operable lever for causing rotation of the lamp in a vertical plane; Fig. 8 is a side elevation thereof;Figs. 9, 10, and 11 are respectively a front elevation, side'elevation, and a cross section of a double crank comprising a portion of the operatin means for causing horizontal rotation of the lamp; and Fig. 12 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the external operating connections of the lamp.

. In the drawings theilamp bracketl is shown as rigidly mounted on a portion of the chassis2 of an automobile. A base 3 is rigidly secured to the bracket 1, and to this is also rigidly secured a pedestal 4. The base 3 and pedestal 4 contain operating connections for causing both movements of the lamp, and the pedestal 1 also supports the lamp carrying cap or bracket 5.

Cap 5 comprises a generally disc form head portion 6, and a depending portion 7 means of a limb having thereon a flange 8 which rotatably engages an annularextended portion 9 of the pedestal et, and an inwardly disposed flange 11 for connection with a hollow shaft or quill 12. Cap 5 and hollow shaft 12 are mutually secured in nonrotatable relation by means of bolts 13, passing through portion 7 of the cap and having thereon nuts 14 formed to bear against the inner surface of shaft 12. Extended portion 9 of the pedestal 4 serves as a fixed seat for ball bearings w 15, supported in a rotatable seat 16, for

facilitating rotationof shaft 12 and cap 5 relatively to the pedestal.

The lamp proper (A) is supported by outer surface of cap 5 and having a concave end portion 18 for the reception of the lamp. The means for causing horizontal rotation of hollow shaft 12, -with consequent horizontal rotation of'lamp supporting cap 5, comprise the following "combination of elements. 7

Adjacent the lower extremity of hollow shaft 12 a v-miter ring gear 19 is secured to the shaft by'means of set screws 20 passing through a ring or hub 21 on the ring gear, the shank22 of the gear, and-the wall of shaft 12. Ball bearing 23, held in 'a r0- tatable seat 24 and 25 in .the pedestal 4e,facilitatesrotation of the. gearand shaft relatively to the pedestal.

Meshing with miter ring gear 19 is a miter gear 26 rotatable in a hub 27 in the base 3. A crank 28 fixedly secured to hub 27 serves to produce rotational movement of miter gear 26, and correspondingly of miter.ring

gear 19, hollow shaft 12, and lamp supportingcap 5.1. A

t is highly desirable, for reasons hereinafter set forth, that the horizontal movement of the lamp be automatic and that it be produced directly by movement, ofthe.

17, mounted on the curved.

in an annular fixed seat the surface of the cap 5. Depending from limb 17 through a slot 34: in cap 5, is a crank 35, rotatable on a bolt 36 passing through the cap and having crank pin 37 joining it to connecting rod or link 38. Connecting rod 3.8 is joined at its lower extremity to clevis block 39, the base of which lies against the base of a second clevis block 10. A connecting rod or link 41 is joined by crank pin 42 to a crank 43, which is mounted on a squared shaft 1% in the base of the lamp. Clevis blocks 39 and 40 have thereon collars 4:5 and 16 respectively bearingv against a sleeve 47 lying within and in engagement with the hollow shaft 12. The clevis blocks thus form a swivel so that horizontal rotation of the shaft 12 does not interfere with rotation of the lamp in a vertical direction.

Squared shaft a l for transmitting motion to' cause vertical rotation of the lamp lies within a centering bushing 48 disposed concentrically with the hub 27 of miter gear 26. This squared shaft has connected therewith at its outer extremity, a crank 419 for transmitting power for rotating the shaft and causing rotation of the lamp in a ver tical direction. A rod 50 passing through operating sleeve 81 connects crank 49 with a second crank 51. Crank 51 is in turn connected with a third crank 52 by a short shaft 53 supported by bracket 54;. Joined to crank 52 is an operating rod 55 extending along the steering column 56 and joining manually operable means thereon.

These means (shown in Figs. 1, 7, and 8 of the drawings) comprise a bracket 57, arranged to clamp upon steering column 56. Rotatably mounted on bracket 57 is a sleeve 58, which has arms 59 provided with eyes for the reception of operating rod 55, and arms 60. A handle or lever member 61 is mounted on a bolt 62 in the arms so that it may be rotated in a direction normal to the direction of rotation of sleeve 58. Bracket 57 also carries a stationary ratchet segment 63 with which engages a pawl or tooth 64 on handle 61. A flat spring 65 serves to normally maintain pawl or tooth 64 in engagement with ratchet 63.

lVith this structure handle 61 may be rotated in one direction to lift pawl 64 out of engagement with ratchet 63, and then caused to rotate sleeve 58 for producing movement of operating rod 55.

As it is usual to mount two lamps upon a vehicle, the mechanism is so arranged that both movements of one of the lamps may be produced by similar movements of the other thereof. This arrangement is shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. As shown, both of the lamps are fastened to a cross bar 66, which has thereon anchor plates 67 to be secured to the mud-guards of a vehicle. This steadying bar 66 is bolted to screw threaded bosses 66 on the pedestals 1, as shown in Figs. 8 and 1- of the drawings.

It is to be understood that all the operating mechanism of one lamp assembly is duplicated in the other thereof, with the exception of the cranks 28 and 19 and the operating connections therefor.

Power for causing rotational movement in a horizontal plane is transmitted from the directly operated lamp assembly to the other member of the pair by means of a hollow shaft 69 carried on a flanged hub 70. A bushing 71 is secured to the hub 7 O by means of set screws 7 2 passing through a flange 78 on the bushing. Passing longitudinally through bushing 71 are a plurality of bolts 7 1 which secure the bushing to one of the side disks 75 of a double crank 76, the other disk 77 of which is secured by means of similar bolts 78 to a bushing 79 through holes in hub 27 of miter gear 26; rigidly uniting gear 26, hub; 27, and crankarm 77; and also uniting crank 28 to hub 27. i

The double crank structure is illustrated in Figs. 9, 10, and Hot the drawings. As shown, the side disks 75 and 77 are provided with bolt holes 99 for the passage of the bolts 7 4 and 78, while the crank arm or crank proper 76 is eccentric-ally mounted. between the disks. By means of this arrangement, the crank for transmitting movement for horizontal rotation does not interfere with movement of squared shaft 14; and crank 13 thereon.

In order to transmit motion for causing vertical rotation of the lamp carrying limb of the lamp assembly which is not directly actuated, squared shaft 1 1 is continued through hollow shaft 69 and engages in the centering bushing 48 of the idling assembly.

The mechanism described above is such that the driving lamps of a vehicle are automatically turned with steering of the vehicle to illuminate the roadway which the vehicle is about to traverse. The inside ditch on curves is thus illuminated; and the light is cast into ravines or cuts which the vehicle is approaching, or is cast around built-up corners of city streets. Other drivers are thus warned of the approach of a vehicle.

It will be understood that with the lamps described a vehicle runs into its own light while rounding curves, and that the illumination is not cast uselessly ahead or along a roadway which the driver of the vehicle does not intend to follow. The lever ratios may also be varied so that the angular swing of the lamps in a horizontal direction is greater than, less than, or equal to the angular swing of the front wheels of the vehicle. Preferably the swing of the lamps is equal to or greater than that of the front wheels in orderto secure the full advantageof the special lamps in rounding curves and the like. i

It is desirable to takethe power for swinging the lamps horizontally at a point as close as possible to the steering column in order that play or lost motion in the operating connections may not diminish the steadi-. ness of the lamps. The steering arm or lever thus provides a convenient point for the attachment of these connections The rotation of the lamps in a vertical direction is also of great advantage i1 1 securing the desired full illumination of the roadway, together with the ability to so depress the lights that a blinding glare will not. be cast into the eyes of the driver of an approaching vehicle or upon the wind shield of a vehicle ahead. The mounting and actuating means for rotation in a vertical direction thus avoid any practical necessity for the use of special lenses or other means attached directly to the lamps themselves.

It is to be noted that this manually produced vertical rotation of the lamps may be simultaneous with the automatic horizontal rotation thereof, so that the lamps may be conveniently de ressed while the vehicle is on a curve. T e two movements are also entirely independent of each other.

As it is possible to make a number of modifications in the form and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the present invention, no limitations are to be imposed upon the scope of the invention other than those contained in the claims appended hereto.

What we claim is:

1. In a lamp assembly for vehicles the combination of a lamp column, a member rotatable about a vertical axis within said column, a slotted cap mounted on said member to rotate therewith, a lamp supporting member rotatable on said cap about a horizontal axis and having a limb extending through the slot in the cap into the interior of the lamp column, connections for transmitting movement of rotation to said cap, and independently operable means connected with said limb for transmitting movement of rotation to said lamp supporting member.

2. In a lamp assembly for vehicles the combination of a lamp pedestal comprising a base, a column, and a cap mounted on said column for rotation about a vertical axis; said base, column, and cap forming a continuous housing; a lamp supporting member mounted on said cap for rotation about a horizontal axis, and means lying wholly within the housing formed by said base, column, and cap for independently impart"- ing movement of rotation to said cap and to said lamp supporting member.

3. Driving lights for vehicles comprising a pair of horizontally aligned lamp assemblies each having lamps mounted for both horizontal and vertical rotation, a positively actuated crank shaft in one assembly for actuating the mechanism causing horizontal rotation of the lamp thereof, a hollow shaft for transmitting such motion to thenother assembly, a shaft lying within the crank shaft and transmitting shaft arranged to actuate the mechanism for causing vertical 4C. In a lamp assembly for vehicles the combination of arbase, arlampcolumn' a sleeve within said column and rotatable about a vertical axis, a slotted cap rigidly mounted on said sleeve to rotate therewith, a lamp supporting member rotatably mounted on said cap and having a limb extending through the slot therein, two positively actuated shafts disposed horizontally in said base, connection between one of said shafts and said sleeve for producing rotation of the sleeve and cap about a vertical axis, and connection between the other of said shafts and the lamp supporting member for producing rotation of the latter about a horizontal axis; said connections lying wholly within the housing formed by said base, column, and cap.

5. In a lamp assembly for vehicles the combination of a base, a lamp column, a sleeve within said column and rotatable about a vertical axis, a slotted cap rigidly mounted on said sleeve to rotatetherewith, a lamp supporting member rotatably mounted on said cap and having a limb extending through the slot therein, two positively actuated shafts disposed horizontally in said base, connection between one of said shafts and said sleeve for producing rotation of the sleeve and cap about a vertical axis, and a swivelled rod connecting the limb of the lamp supporting member to the other of said shafts for producing rotation of the lamp supporting member about a horizontal axis independently of movement of the sleeve and cap; said connections lying wholly within the housing formed by said base, column, and cap.

6. In a lamp assembly the combination of a rotatable sleeve, a lamp carried by said sleeve and rotatable in a direction normal to the direction of rotation of the sleeve, a horizontal shaft, an intermediately swivelled rod connected with said shaft and with said lamp for rotating said lamp in a direction normal to the direction of rotation of said sleeve, a shaft and connections for rotatin said sleeve, and a double throw crank on sai shaft for permitting independent actuation of the connections for producing vertical rotation of the lamp.

7. In a lamp assembly for vehicles the combination of a base, a vertical pedestal on said base, a horizontally rotatable sleeve in said pedestal, a ring gear on said sleeve,

a lamp mounted on said sleeve and vertically rotatable thereon, concentric shafts in said base, a gear on one of said shaftsumeshing with said ring gear for producing horizontal rotation of said sleeve, and operating means connected with the other of said shafts and extending through said ring gear for producing vertical rotation of said lamp.

8. In a lamp assembly for vehicles the combination of a base, a vertical pedestal on said base, a horizontally rotatable sleeve in said pedestal, a ring gear on said sleeve, a

lamp mounted on said sleeve and vertically rotatable thereon, concentric shafts in said base, a gear on one of said shafts meshmg WALLACE BORLAND, LOTTA B. FISHER. 

